New Delhi: Sonal Jha, who has appeared in daily soaps like ‘Balika Vadhu’ and ‘Na Aana Is Des Laado’, has explained why she no longer works on television. Sonal said that she has not seen television since 2016. The actress thinks TV series that looks progressive aren't necessarily progressive.
Sonal was recently interviewed by Hindustan Times where she was asked how the TV material has evolved since the days of Balika Vadhu. Sonal said, “TV is a wide medium and a lot of content is being made simultaneously. When Balika Vadhu was being made, Ekta Kapoor was also making her serials on kitchen politics and (that kind of) regressive content. So, I am sure good stories are still there but maximum stuff just the same as what has been going on (all these years). If there is any change visible, it is too frivolous. There are times when I get calls offering me ‘a strong and progressive character’.”
She was quoted saying, “I feel that their agenda is not showing progressive content. (They tell me) ‘this is the story, this is a progressive role. That is why I distanced my self from TV work, their agenda is different. They do not have a stand.”
According to Sonal, the market doesn't care about anything other than making a profit. She also said that although it's great that these businesses are having open conversations about race and body image, she wondered how much had really changed.
She said, “Like the market does not have any stand, it will turn towards profit. All these companies are now talking about positive discussions around skin colour and body images but how much has actually changed? TV is a difficult medium to work with, if you want to work with a particular ideology or something.”
Colors TV carried ‘Balika Vadhu’ from 2008 to 2016. The narrative focused on a child bride's experiences in rural Rajasthan. Recently, Sonal was seen in ‘Jehanabad of Love and War’ by Sudhir Mishra.